By GARRETT SAGER
Hays Post

During Monday night’s Hays USD 489 Board of Education meeting and work session, the board had its final discussions on seeking bidders for a total replacement on the Hays High School HVAC system and passed the motion.

The motion passed 6-0 to advance the request for proposal offered by Integrated Consulting Engineers Inc.

Dwayne Vaughn, CEO of Integrated Consulting Engineers, was present Monday to answer questions.

Within the request for proposal is an in-depth outline that shows exactly what the district is looking for in a firm, such as specialized skills in facilities operations, capital planning and energy management.

Sarah Rankin, USD 489 Board vice president, raised concerns on whether the board would receive enough responses in the Hays area to tackle the task of making the improvements to the district with all the qualifications outlined in the RFP.

“I just wonder that in the arena of Hays if we would even receive enough responses for a bid,” she said.

Rankin followed up her statement by asking what they could expect in responses.

Vaughn assured Rankin and the board that for sure he knows of three, with the possibility of five.

The idea is to use the RFP to hire a firm that could then not only work on Hays High School, but also use the RFP to work on all the buildings in entire district.

“The goal is not for one building in the district, but the district as a whole,” Vaughn said.

The board will now seek the qualifications from firms to identify, design, guarantee, install, maintain, monitor and help arrange financing for a strategic facilities improvement program.

The district intends to select one firm and award a single contract to perform the facility improvement program. The  contract will be for up to five years with two three-year renewal options, at the discretion of the district.

USD 489 Superintendent John Thissen identified a timeline in selecting a firm so work can begin as soon as this upcoming summer.

“Selecting a firm by the middle of December, with the schedule of the RFP, it gives us the opportunity to begin this summer,” he said.

The board also reviewed the presentations from the three architectural firms — all vying to be given the chance to work with USD 489 toward a successful bond election after last June’s failed.

The board reviewed  Hollis and Miller; Schaefer, Johnson, Cox, Frey Architectural Firm; and DLR Group.

“Very pleased with all of them,” Thissen said. “Any one of them could do the job that we need them to do.”

While Thissen and board members shared the same impressions of the three architectural firms, they are not in any hurry to hire a firm at this point.

“More investigations need to happen before we pick one for us,” Thissen said.

Thissen would like to see more from the firms than just what was seen in their individual presentations.

In an effort to go beyond the presentations, Thissen would like to visit each of the firms at their offices.

Thissen, who was superintendent at Herrington when that district passed a bond issues eight years ago, spoke on the value of seeing the firms in their offices.

“It’s important to get into their offices and see how they operate,” Thissen said.

Not all board members agreed.

Board member Josh Waddell disagreed with Thissen stating that there is no need to spend a lot of money to travel the state.

“They are all excellent firms and the chances that we are going to dig up skeletons when we go see them are not likely,” Waddell said. “We have their references. We are better off contacting them than spending the money to see them.”

Thissen said he would offer an estimate of travel costs to present to the board.

Also passing at the board meeting and work session Monday night was the transportation purchase to update the fleet of vehicles for the district of two Suburbans and two buses. The cost of the additions was $265,525.50.

The Hays High roof storm repair bid was also approved.

The next session of Coffee and Conversation will be held Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the HaysMed Orthopedic Institute Lobby, 2500 Canterbury Drive. Participants are asked to use the west parking lot E.

The program will feature a presentation and roundtable discussion with Dr. Mohammed Janif, MD, Cardiologist, HaysMed DeBakey Heart Institute, and Andrea Harmoney, MS, RD, LD, Dietitian at HaysMed. Topic for the discussion is “Heart Healthy eating During the Holidays.”

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with healthy snacks followed by the discussion from 6 to 7:00 p.m. The program is designed for those who have had Open Heart Surgery, Stents (PTCA), Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) or a Health Attack (MI) and the people who care about them.

Registration is free, but RSVPs are due Oct. 31. RSVP to (785) 623-5500 or https://www.haysmed.com/event/coffee-and-conversation-heart-healthy-eating-during-the-holidays

FHSU University Relations

Ed Howell, chief of the University Police Department at Fort Hays State University, has been invited to attend a national forum to discuss policy and procedures on “campus carry” — carrying firearms on campus.

Concealed carry of firearms will be legal on Kansas campuses on July 1, 2017.

The forum, Nov. 15 to Nov. 16 at Collin College, McKinney, Texas, is hosted by the National Center for Campus Public Safety. Campus police chiefs and safety officials will identify critical items of consideration in developing and implementing policies and procedures.

The forum is expected to result in a report outlining the approaches taken at campuses where firearms are already allowed and lessons learned as shared by forum participants.

The NCCPS will cover the costs associated with Howell’s participation, including travel, per-diem, and three nights lodging expenses.

The NCCPS is funded through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. The center is a centralized location for campus public safety resources and technical assistance.

The website is www.nccpsafety.org.

FHSU University Relations

Ten Fort Hays State University students received an Adah Howat scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.

The Adah Howat Scholarship is a $1,000-per-semester scholarship open to graduates of Kansas high schools in cities on or west of U.S. Highway 183. Recipients must demonstrate high academic standing.

The scholarship is renewable for an additional six semesters provided recipients maintain full-time standing and a GPA of at least 3.0.

Recipients, with classifications, majors and high schools, are listed by hometown.

Alexander: Katherine Showalter, a senior majoring in biology, is a 2013 Western Plains High School graduate.

Brownell: Andrew Flax, a senior majoring in agricultural business, is a 2014 Western Plains High School graduate.

Ellis: Landon Younger, a junior majoring in chemistry, is a 2014 Ellis High School graduate.

Fowler: Hannah Heinz, a sophomore majoring in biology, is a 2015 Fowler High School graduate.
Marshall Marrs, a sophomore majoring in biology, is a 2014 Fowler High School graduate.

Meade: Lexus Luetters, a freshman majoring in elementary education, is a 2016 Meade High School graduate.

Ogallah: Aaron Satran, a freshman majoring in agriculture, is a 2016 Trego Community High School graduate.

WaKeeney: Ryan Deaver, a freshman majoring in physics, is a 2016 Trego Community High School graduate.
Brandi Fritts, a freshman majoring in nursing, is a 2016 Trego Community High School graduate.
Ella Sherwood, a junior majoring in communication science, is a 2014 Trego Community High School graduate.

By COOPER SLOUGH
Hays Post

The Hays Community Theatre is reviving the Haunted Hays City Historic Tours for another year. Tours take place Oct. 27 to 30, starting at the theater, 118 E. 11th, and runing every 15 minutes from 7 to 10:30 p.m.

This year’s tour was written by the Ink Spots, a group of local writers and historians, and features questionable characters, haunting figures, farm animals, horseback riders, a cowboy camp, snake oil salesmen — and even gunfights.

“(The tour is) based on actual people who lived here, and actual things that happened,” said Pamela Grizzell, head of the HCT venue and fundraising committee. “If there was a shootout, we re-enact it close to where it actually happened.”

All money raised during the tour goes toward helping build the community theater. Last year’s tours were so successful, the theater was able to put in public restrooms.

“Last year, with the help of Glassman Plumbing, we raised enough money to finance and put in our bathroom,” Grizzell said. “There was just such a positive response, we figured we’d bring it back.”

The tour is not recommended for small children and those with mobility or heart problems. The use of strollers is also discouraged.

Tickets for the tour are $10 each, and there are 18 available spots per tour.

Tour organizers are also looking for a few extras to fill minor roles.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit the HCT website.